Prevent Child Abuse America Podcast, Episode Nine - The 2008 Prevent Child Abuse America national conference Future of Child Abuse Prevention plenary.

At the 2008 Prevent Child Abuse America national conference we held a fantastic plenary titled "The Future of Child Abuse Prevention." The moderators were Dr. Deborah Daro from the Chapin Hall Center for Children and Dr. Anne Cohn Donnelly from the Kellogg School of Management. The panelists represented a wide-ranging set of specialties and included Dr. Robert F. Anda, Co-Principal Investigator, Adverse Childhood Experiences (ACE Study), Dr. Phaedra Corso, University of Georgia College of Public Health, Linda Gorchels, UW-Madison School of Business, Rutledge Q. Hutson, Center for Law and Social Policy and Bryan Specht, Dig Communications. The conversation was really exciting and if you are interested in listening to it we have created the the below podcast. We have also included the "Did You Know 2.0" video referenced during the plenary and we hope you enjoy it.

Pinwheels for Prevention. Going national and more to come.

We wanted to share with you the logo we've developed for our national Pinwheels for Prevention campaign, as well as, the image we've developed with The Berenstain Bears who are serving as official Spokesbears for Prevent Child Abuse America and the campaign. There is much more information to come though so please visit us again soon to learn more.

Join us on Facebook Causes.

As you know Prevent Child Abuse America has created a Facebook page where if you have a Facebook page of your own you can become a fan and be privy to all the new exciting Prevent Child Abuse America news, listen to the new podcasts, watch our new YouTube videos, get invitations to new events and discover new ways to get involved and support the work of PCA America. Today we wanted to let you know that we have now added a Facebook Causes page as well and we are hoping you will take a look at this too. Causes is an application that allows us to raise money for our work through Facebook, and while we would be thrilled if you want to make a donation, the main reason we are bringing this to your attention is because we hope you will (1) join us as supporters of our cause and (2) recruit your friends and your network to do so as well. So, please take a look and please consider joining us and spreading the word. If you have any questions please do not hesitate to give us a shout at pcaa@preventchildabuse.org.

Very cool - House Committee Passes EBAH.

Yesterday, the Education and Labor Committee of the U.S. House of Representatives passed the Education Begins at Home Act (EBAH, HR 2343) by a voice vote. Many thanks to all of you who reached out to your Representatives over the past couple of weeks. Your efforts helped to ensure that EBAH passed committee with bipartisan support. You also helped boost the number of cosponsors for EBAH from 50 at the end of May to the current number of 64. We will continue to keep you apprised of the evolving status of this legislation and as needed ask for your support.

SPEAK EASY & Swing - the Prevent Child Abuse America 2008 Blue Ribbon Ball.

We wanted to let you know that we are already well into our preparations for our 2008 Blue Ribbon Ball which will be held here in Chicago, Saturday, October 18th at the Palmer House Hilton. This year's theme is SPEAK EASY & Swing and to learn more about the event, buy tickets, make a donation or learn how you can volunteer please visit the SPEAK EASY & Swing website here or contact PCA America's Director of Special Events Kirsten Runkle at krunkle@preventchildabuse.org. A good time is sure to be had by all and we look forward to seeing you there.

Pro Bowl Defensive Tackle Tommie Harris of the Chicago Bears donates $20,000 to Prevent Child Abuse America.

Last night at the Tommie Harris Golf Outing Dinner, 3-time Pro Bowl Defensive Tackle Tommie Harris of the Chicago Bears presented James M. Hmurovich, President and CEO of Prevent Child Abuse America with a donation of $20,000.

“We all know he is a great football player, but we need to leave here knowing he also is an extraordinary human being,” Hmurovich said at the dinner. “He plays with all his heart on the gridiron and he gives with all his heart to children and important causes like child abuse and neglect prevention.”

Harris has supported the work of Prevent Child Abuse America for two years now and we look forward to more opportunities where we can come together united in a common passion - the prevention of child abuse and neglect before it ever occurs.

Hmurovich added, “We are proud to have Tommie Harris as a national representative of our cause, to use his celebrity and his skills to help children. It takes a strong person to play football as well as he does; it takes an even stronger person to talk about prevention and send the message that the work we do today to raise our children impacts the kind of nation we will live in, in the future.”

For more information about Tommie Harris, all the good work he does and The Tommie Harris Foundation you can visit his website here.

Education Begins At Home Hearing scheduled for June 11th. Take action.

EBAH Hearing Scheduled for June 11^th, 10am ET

Take Action

Great News! The Education and Labor Committee of the U.S. House of Representatives plans to hold a hearing on the Education Begins at Home Act (EBAH, HR 2343).

The hearing is scheduled for Wednesday, June 11^th at 10am eastern. Please note the committee is still finalizing the list of witnesses. We’ll keep you posted.

The hearing will put a spotlight on home visiting and will provide a perfect opportunity to build additional support for EBAH in the House.

We encourage you to take the following action steps in support of EBAH before June 11^th:

Take Action. If your Representative is a member of the Education and Labor committee, listed below, please ask him/her to participate in the hearing. A good turnout will demonstrate that there is broad interest and support for the bill and will help us build momentum.

Take Action. A current list of cosponsors is included below. If your Representative is not on this list, please ask him/her to cosponsor the bill. Ideally, we would like to see a boost in the number of cosponsors prior to the hearing.

Take Action. If you receive any commitments to attend the hearing or cosponsor the legislation, please contact Bridget Gavaghan at bgavaghan@preventchildabuse.org.

Step 1: Connect to your Representative’s office through the U.S. Capitol switchboard, 202-224-3121.

Step 2: Ask to speak to the aide who handles children’s issues.

Step 3: Identify yourself and your organization and make your “ask.”

The “Ask” for Committee Members:

· I’m calling to request that Representative ______ participate in the Education and Labor Committee hearing on the Education Begins at Home Act, scheduled for 10am on June 11^th.

· [If not a cosponsor] AND cosponsor the Education Begins At Home Act.

The “Ask” for Representatives Not Currently Signed Onto EBAH

· I’m calling to request that Representative _____ cosponsor the Education Begins At Home Act (EBAH, HR 2343) prior to the Education and Labor committee hearing on EBAH scheduled for June 11^th.

Additional Talking Points:

· EBAH would authorize $500 million over three years to help states establish or expand quality early childhood home visitation programs.

· Home visitation delivers parent education and family support directly to parents with young children providing guidance on how parents can enhance their children’s development from birth through kindergarten entry.

· Home visitation works. Research has shown that voluntary home visitation is a very effective and cost-efficient strategy for supporting new parents and connecting them to helpful and much needed community resources.

· Quality early childhood home visitation programs lead to proven, positive outcomes for children and families, including improved child health and development, improved parenting practices, improved school readiness, and reductions in child abuse and neglect.

· There is not enough funding to meet the demand for home visiting programs. Existing home visitation programs like Healthy Families America serve only a small percentage of families in need of prevention and family support services. EBAH dollars would enable programs to reach thousands of more families who have very young children – the same cohort of children that suffers disproportionately from abuse and neglect in this country.

If you have questions regarding committee members, representatives not currently signed onto EBAH or any other information contained in this entry please contact: Bridget Gavaghan, Director of Public Policy, at 312-334-6819 or bgavaghan@preventchildabuse.org.

Prevent Child Abuse America Podcast, Episode Eight - A Conversation with Ben Tanzer, Director of Strategic Communications, PCA America.

We know we have gone a little podcast happy at the blog lately, but we just obtained a copy of a radio interview that Ben Tanzer the Director of Strategic Communications at Prevent Child Abuse America did with Barry Keefe of The Mix radio station here in Chicago and we wanted to share it with you. We hope you find it interesting, and as always invite your comments or e-mails, the latter of which you can send to pcaa@preventchildabuse.org